Interesting comment's by everybody. It's nice to see that there is much respect for the sport quad that set the standard. regardless of what you are riding you always brag if you smoke a Banshee. My brother is looking to purchase one this month. Win or lose, I can't wait to race him.

 

The KTM 525 stock will and has beat stock and mostly stock Banshee's and modded 700r's.

I have pictures and videos of a friend hot-lapping at the sand drags.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Higgy

Heard a rumor this weekend of a 4-stroke, twin cylinder shee coming late this year. Anyone else heard this?</end quote></div>

That has been going on for a while, but I'm not sure if Yamaha is going to do it....If you looks at it logistically from a marketing and sales stand point it seems like a long shot.

Right now the Raptor line is 250/350/700 and I'm not sure there is a place for another open-class machine in their lineup.......

Even if they ditch the 350 as some suspect might happen, it seems that another open class (500cc twin) has no place with the 700 in the mix.

If anything, they bump the Raptor 350 up to a 400cc class machine to compete with the z400/400ex machines better, but that too would hit the 700 in sales. I think a "Banshee" would be in direct competition with the 700 and Yamaha would not want that.

I'm not saying it's impossible but it seems highly unlikely.

Suzuki has toyed with the idea of a 700cc sport machine too, but testing has shown that the z400 is still too close to the 700 in performance so they have delayed production on that one...

Honda only went with a 700 when they decided to make it IRS, they also did not want to take sales away from the 400ex with a machine in direct competition.

It seems that the sport ATV lines are all streamlining into basic groups.

Entry level sport (250cc class) Raptor 250 is the new breed and soon Suzuki and Honda will follow with upgrades.

Mid level sport (400cc class) This line has become the bread and butter for Honda and Suzuki, and even the Raptor350 sales are still strong.

Racer machines (450cc class) All the racers are selling well. The YFZ is still #1 in sales with the 450r right on par and the LT-R450 gaining ground.... The KFX450 is still lagging behind but it is the newest.

Open class big bore (Raptor 700, Outlaw 525) The Raptor is still selling a ton, and the Outlaw is still new.

Special sport (700xx, Outlaw IRS) the IRS machines are not selling great, but they are selling and are projected to steadily increase as they find their market.

If anyone would do it, Yamaha would.... they are the ones who have a history of offering the most sport machines to choose from. As it is the fact they have the 350 and the 700 to fill in gaps for those who don't want a racer, or are interested in a trail machine bigger than a 250, could eventually force them to cave in......

 

^^^^^^
ill give you that
wait till this new dasa duals and fci intake come out. will take out those ktms no problem in hill shoot and drags. and you will beable to get this all for probaly 1000-1200 bucks.

 

The DS650 Bombadier/Can-am is rated very close to the Raptor for king of the sand dunes. Considering the Raptor is 50cc bigger motor with F/I.

Buy any good used DS650 for around $3,000 or more depending on your money situation. The new 450 sport quades are awsome if your an average weight rider. If your a bigger guy forget it.

Garman

 

ive herd the ds650 are very expencive to mod though. and sence the ds650 is no longer around there wont be a ton of aftermarket support like there will be for the raptor. raptors are now getting over 100hp and are blowing the crap out of the trannys. they are working on a billet tranny like the shees have.

 

the thing with being king of the dunes is, its hard when you dont have the factory backing. the banshee never received any upgrades (except A arms from J arms) but in reality it is the same quad from 1987 with he same motor from 1987. i think the banshee will always be a legend and if yamaha came out with a new one (highly unlikely) i would be quite offended. regardless of brute speed, banshees have always been insanely fun to ride (anyone who has can attest to that). Banshee owners must realize that the reign of terror is over and with the factory (and after market companies) backing solely four strokes, it is only an inevitability that four pokes will surpass banshee's. what i do know for sure is, as of right now, there are more fast banshees out there then any other quad.

 

I have never owned a banshee, but I have ridden one and it scared the living hell out of me! It was mod out, of course. IMO, they are the best quad out there...I am sorry to see them go. The aftermarket parts are endless, you can literally spend tens of thousands of dollars on them. Of course, modern technology will prevail, but there will always be a place in our hearts...our memories...of the banshee. BTW, the banshee I rode has ranked in the top 5 of "DUNEFEST" here in Oregon for many years. It would take a book to write the mods it has....let's just say the seat is cupped so you don't get bucked off! LOL! Just the sound of it makes me nervous!

 

Come on, but let's give props to the original sport-bike. The Honda ATC/TRX 250R. Now I haven't raced every bike you mention in this thread, but the ones I have raced weren't even in the same league as my R.

The well maintained 250R will always be king. You just can't replicate the powerband of a 2-stroke in a 4-stroke. Even the Banshee will lose 9 times out of 10 racing the R.

 

I think that banshee 500 twin came from a dirt wheels april fools edition a couple years back.